Educating Librarians in the Middle East:

Building Bridges for the 21st Century 

Barbara B. MoranSchool of Information and

Library ScienceUNC-Chapel Hill

8th Annual AMICAL Conference

Beirut, Lebanon4/29/2011

What is ELIME-21• An IMLS Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian

Program grant. It will:

o Promote establishment of graduate-level education in library and information science at American University in Cairo and Al Akhawayn University in Morocco

o fund six doctoral students at UNC

http://www.imls.gov/about/international.shtm

Why the Middle East?The Middle East is at an important crossroads in preserving its cultural heritage and in becoming a knowledge society. Although there are great variations among the countries in the area, on the whole there is movement towards improving education and access to learning, and the need for professional librarians is expected to increase significantly for many years to come.

ELIME: filling a gap• There is a need for:

o Locally trained professionals in many Middle Eastern countries

o Up-to-date LIS education focused on online materials, digital libraries and curation.

o the United States to have librarians who are more knowledgeable about Middle Eastern society and culture

Outcomes of ELIME-21

• Customized LIS programs will be started at AUC and AUI designed to respond to local needs.

• A cohort of US PhD students will be educated who are knowledgeable about the Middle East and its information and library needs.

• The programs at AUC/AUI could serve a models for other collaborative ventures between US LIS schools and institutions in the Middle East and other regions of the world.

Partner Universities:American University in Cairo

• Institutional Needs:o Needs assessment recently

completedo Focus will likely be on school

library media training working with both the AUC library and the School of Education

Partner Universities:Al Akhawayn University• Institutional needs

o Coursework to fill the gaps in knowledge of the current library staff

o Instructional courses which will teach the library staff to train others in the future

o Possibility of establishment of MLS program

Diversified Team from UNC

• From SILS: o Barbara Morano Javed Mostafao Cal Leeo Ron Berquisto Jane Greenberg o Jeff Pomerantz

From the UNC LibraryMohamed Abou El Seoud

Other on-campus partners:

• Carolina Center for the Study of Middle East and Muslim Civilizations

Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies

Advisory Board• Ismail Abdullahi, Associate Professor, School of Information and Library Sciences,

North Carolina Central University.

• Peter Burnett, Head of Library Development, International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications, UK.

• Carl Ernst, Kenan Professor and Director of the Center for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Civilizations, UNC-CH.

• Abdelhamid Lotfi, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Library Director, Al Akhawayn University.

• Lokman Meho, University Librarian, American University, Beirut.

• Arthur Smith, Director for Middle East Services, Online Computer Library Center, Inc.

• Pat Wand, Former Dean of Libraries, Zayed University, United Arab Emirates.

• and others to be added

Time Line for ELIME-21

June 2010

Notification of

FundingOne

year’s extension requested

2010-2011

PlanningSite Visits to Partner Institution

s Recruit

first PhD Cohort

June 2011

Summer Workshop

AUI

August 2011First

cohort of PhD

students arrive at

UNC

August 2012 Second

cohort of PhD

students arrive

2011-2014

Courses Developed and taught at Partner Institution

s

June 2014 ELIME -

21 is “officially”

completed

First Class of ELIME-21 Fellows Have been

Admitted• 3 Doctoral students will be starting at UNC this fall

• Varied group but very well qualified—interest in and travel to the Middle East

• 2 have MLS degrees and one an MA in Arabic Studies

• Tentative research interestso Ancient libraries and bibliophilism in Southern Moroccoo Development of library education in the Middle Easto Information literacy and library instruction in the Middle

East

Educational plan for the new Fellows

• Courses offered at SILS and through the CCSMEMC o Usual SILS PhD classes

supplemented by specialized courses, e.g., Critical Genealogies of Middle East Studies and Arabic language study

• Internships at each of the two partner institutions

Future events• Additional

workshops and courses will be offered in the future

• Doctoral students will be conducting research projects and teaching in conjunction with UNC and local library staff/faculty

Summer Workshop at AUI

Archives and records management workshop• Course instructor – Dr. Cal Lee of UNC• Dates: June 20th-24th 2011

Questions?• Request for input –

oCould the program be extended to other areas of the world?

oHow could the workshops and certificate programs be structured to make them most useful?

o Could the courses and workshops be of use to other AMICAL members?

oOther ways LIS schools could serve as partners to AMICAL members?